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Baker was born on July 17, 1947 in Poughkeepsie, New York. He is the son of Henry Irving Baker, Jr. (1917–1949) and Ruth (Abercrombie) Baker (1918–1965). Baker's father died when he was young, and his mother eventually moved the family to Dearborn, Michigan, supporting them through a career with the Ford Motor Company. Baker attended public high school in Dearborn.[3]

Baker stayed with Steptoe & Johnson LLP until appointed in 1992 by President George H. W. Bush to serve as General Counsel to the National Security Agency (NSA). Baker served at the NSA during the time when the agency was defending the controversial Clipper Chip, an electronic encryption device that was equipped with a decoding key for use by the US government.[4] Baker was awarded the Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service in 1994.[2]

Following his two-year stint at the National Security Agency, Baker returned to private practice at Steptoe & Johnson. His practice at the firm concentrated on issues related to privacy, national security, computer security, electronic surveillance, encryption, digital commerce, and export controls.[2]

In my view, there were two problems – a problem with the tools our agencies were able to use and a problem with the rules they were required to follow. What's worse, two years later, neither problem has been fixed. Which means that there is a very real risk we will fail again, and that more Americans will die at the hands of terrorists as a result of our failure.[5]

Baker advocated for better use of modern technology for tracking terrorists, including the use of electronic surveillance and better coordination with law enforcement officials. He also noted the importance of recognizing and protecting privacy and civil liberties.[5]

On July 13, 2005, Baker was appointed by President George W. Bush to be Assistant Secretary (acting as Under Secretary-equivalent) for Policy for the United States Department of Homeland Security. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 7, 2005.[1] News of his nomination was greeted with mixed reviews by privacy advocates and those concerned about his position on civil liberties; and the Department has been unable to elevate his position to an Under Secretary level. He negotiated several agreements between DHS and European governments concerning European privacy law and a U.S. legal requirement that airlines provide reservation data about US-bound passengers to the US government (Passenger name records or PNRs). One of these agreements had a "side letter"[7] that abrogated significant parts of the published agreement.[8]

In 2009, Baker returned to Steptoe & Johnson, where he currently practices law (and holds the record for returning to the firm more times than any other lawyer).[9] In 2013, he began hosting the Cyberlaw Podcast.[10]